


UP

by mjstark



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Cute, Developing Relationship, Fluff, Growing Up, Growing Up Together, I was watching UP, Inspired by Disney, Just all around cuteness, M/M, Marriage, Sad, Sad and Happy, UP inspired, thought this was cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-03
Updated: 2018-01-03
Packaged: 2019-02-28 00:13:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13259547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mjstark/pseuds/mjstark
Summary: I was watching the Disney Pixar movie UP and this sort of happened.Cute fluff happens. Also a bit of sad stuff.





	UP

UP

 

Steve, age 6, ran down the road at full speed. Aeroplane noises escape his mouth as he speeds along, balloon trailing behind him. In his mind, a static-y radio man's voice narrates him.

 

_Here’s Steve Rogers! Piloting his famous plane!_

 

He charges down the path, breezing past house after house.

 

_He hurdles Pike’s Peak!_

 

Steve leaps over a rock. A car beeps as he passes.

 

_He hurdles the Grand Canyon!_

 

Steve jumps a crack in the sidewalk, making crashing noises.

 

_He hurdles Mount Everest!_

 

Steve attempts to vault over a tree stump, but he slips and slams into it, falling backward flat on his back. He recovers quickly, stumbling a little and airplane noises reinstated as he spreads his arm and swerves around it.

 

_He goes around Mount Everest!_

 

_Is there nothing he cannot do?_

 

_Yes! as Rogers himself says! Advent-_

 

“-URE IS OUT THERE!” A voice from a distance stops Steve in his tracks. It’s a voice coming from a house. He turns, slowly, to look at it.

 

An old house. It’s been abandoned for years. Steve thinks it’s creepy. Lots of wood on the windows and old smelly things. Creepy creepy creepy. He pushes his airplane goggles up onto his head. The little yelling voice continues.

 

“LOOK OUT! MOUNT RUSHMORE! WE’RE TAKING THE SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE OVER MOUNT RUSHMORE!” Steve blinks twice and looks at his balloon. ‘the spirit of adventure’.

 

On top of the big old house, the big metal chicken turns left and right but it’s not windy. Steve squints. It’s attached to ropes! They are moving it back and forth.

 

“HOLD IT TOGETHER OLD GIRL! WOO!” Steve smiles, runs up the path, scrambles up the steps. His balloon trails behind. The door is off the wall and hanging there. It says ‘the spirit of adventure’ on it in big black messy writing. ‘my handwriting is better’, Steve thinks proudly. 

 

“HOW ARE MY DOGS DOING?” Steve follows the voice as it does dog-barking impressions that make him giggle. “ALL ENGINES AHEAD! FULL!” He gets on his hands and knees, squeezes through the gap in the door with his balloon under his arm.

 

“LET'S TAKE IT UP TO 26 THOUSAND BEATS” Steve stands and takes a step forward. “RUDDERS AT 18 DEGREES TOWARDS SOUTH!”

 

Along the corridor, he knows that’s where the voice is coming from. He walks cautiously, drawn to the voice.

 

“IT’S A BEAUTIFUL DAY! WINDS OUT OF THE EAST AT 10 KNOTS!” Steve enters slowly into the room. It’s messy and big and weird things are everywhere! By the window, he sees the boy who is yelling. He has a flying helmet just like Steve’s! 

 

He has his back to him, he is spinning a wheel like a pirate’s ship. Steve thinks it must turn the ropes that pull the metal chicken on top. It’s very complicated, he thinks, looking at all the ropes and metal things. The boy must be very clever to make this. In front of the Pirate wheel, there is a picture of a waterfall and green grass. Steve doesn’t think the drawing is very good, but he is too confused by the boy doing the wheel spinning. “VISIBILITY… UNLIMITED!” 

 

He turns suddenly and points at a cage, yelling louder.

 

“DUM-E! PUT THE WEATHER IN THE LOG BOOK!” He is pointing at a hamster. Steve almost giggles. “OOH. THERE”S SOMETHING DOWN THERE!” He puts binoculars to his eyes and stares at the drawing. Steve peers to have a look but can’t see anything. He is a little scared the boy will see him. “I WILL BRING IT BACK... FOR SCIENCE!”

 

Science? 

 

“AW, IT’S A PUPPY.” Steve turns around and looks at the wall. “AH-“ the boy’s loud voice fades as he reads the titles of the newspapers that have been taped to it. They are all about adventurers! The same adventurers that Steve likes! 

 

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Suddenly the voice is behind Steve, right behind him! He jumps and scrambles back against the wall, accidentally letting go of his balloon. The boy is leaning into him, face very very close. He has big, big, big brown eyes that look at him brightly and curiously. Steve feels his heart rate increase.

 

“Don’t you know this is an exclusive club? Only explorers get in here! Not just a kid off the street with a helmet and a pair of goggles!” 

 

Steve doesn’t know what ‘exclusive’ means but he moves backward in fear. The boy is very close to him and doesn’t seem to notice. He doesn’t seem angry, though, which confuses Steve because he is yelling everything and doesn’t stop talking.

 

“DO YOU THINK YOU’VE GOT WHAT IT TAKES?” He doesn’t wait for Steve to answer before asking again, “WELL DO YOU?” 

 

“Uh- I-“ 

 

Suddenly, the boy steps back and smiles a big, toothy grin. He is as small as Steve is! He thinks gleefully.

 

“ALRIGHT. You’re in.” He holds out a hand and doesn’t wait for Steve to take it, just grabs Steve’s hand and shakes it quickly. “WELCOME ABOARD! What’s wrong? Can’t you talk?”

 

Steve looks down nervously. He was never very good at talking at all. His hands were shaking.

 

“Hey, I don’t bite.” The boy is smiling again and shoves his hands briefly into his big blue overalls. He takes them out again, seemingly unable to keep them still. Steve watches as the boy pulls his helmet off and tries not to laugh when black messy hair puffs out in all directions. The boy is grinning again, not seeming to care that Steve hasn’t said anything at all. “You and me are in a club now.”

 

He takes off a pin from his overalls. It is a safety pin through a bottle cap that says ‘stella Artois’ on it. Steve has seen his mom drink Stella Artois but he has never been allowed. He tries to not look surprised when the boy pins it to his knitted sweater. He smiles at him. He’s in a club!

 

“I saw where your balloon went! COME ON! Let’s go get it.” The boy runs out of the room and Steve looks up at the hole in the roof to see his balloon, a long long long way up.

 

The boy appears back in the room all of a sudden, making Steve jump.

 

“My name’s Tony!” He says, taking Steve’s hand and pulling him quickly away.

 

 

 

“THERE IT IS!” They are up a lot of stares and in the attic of the old, old house. Steve’s balloon is on the other side of the room, across a big hole. There is only one plank of wood across the hole. Steve gulps.

 

“WELL! GO AHEAD!” Tony pushes Steve out onto the plank of wood, seemingly not afraid at all. He jumps lightly on the wood and Steve can’t find the words to tell him to stop. With Tony fuelling his bravery, he pulls his goggles over his eyes and takes another step across the wood towards his balloon. 

 

It breaks, and he falls.

 

 

 

 

 

When he sits in bed that night, his wrist is in an itchy cast. He is reading a book with a flashlight because Mom says you shouldn’t read this late at night but Steve didn’t care. 

 

 

Suddenly, a balloon flies into his room through the window, a stick is attached to the bottom. It flies right over to Steve, knocking into him and making him jump and hurt his arm. He looks up at the balloon curiously.

 

“HEY KID!” A big black mess of curls appears at this window, making Steve scream like a girl and punch himself in the face. Tony hurls himself into the window and sits on the ledge, which was strange because Steve was on the third floor! “I THOUGHT YOU MIGHT NEED A LITTLE CHEERING UP! I GOT SOMETHING TO SHOW YA!”

 

He tries to whisper that last part, but Tony isn’t really very good at whispering. Steve hopes his mom doesn’t wake up.

 

 

 

 

 

“I am about to show you something that I have never shown to another human being. EVER! IN MY LIFE!” 

 

Now, they are in a blanket tent that Tony had made, with a flashlight lighting up their faces. Tony’s voice is filled with secrecy and importance as he looks at Steve with big, wide, serious eyes. Steve feels very special, and a little scared.

 

“YOU have got to SWEAR! That you will not tell ANYONE!” Steve nods excitedly, smile wide. “CROSS YOUR HEART! Do it!”

 

He crosses a finger over his heart quickly and holds his hand up to show Tony, a little scared at the intensity and excitement in Tony’s dark eyes. He wonders how Tony had managed to get there so late at night. He brings out a big book from behind his back. It’s big and written on the front in big red letters, the same messy handwriting from before.

 

“My adventure book!” He sets it on the floor and Steve leans forward eagerly. He opens the first page and a comic book slips out. “You know Captain America? He was an explorer! When I get big, I’m going where he’s going!” Tony points a thumb at himself, his voice filled with significance and seriousness. He pulls out the comic book to reveal a map underneath. “South America! It’s like America, but _South_!”

 

Tony whispers conspiratorially, a big secret being shared. “Wanna know where I’m gonna live?”

 

He flips a page and there’s another picture taped in. It is a waterfall and trees and big cliffs that look a little bit like the drawing in the old house. “Paradise Falls, a land lost in time” He reads from the bottom of the picture.

 

“I ripped this right out of a library book!” Tony tells him and Steve gasps loudly, a hand going to cover his mouth. Tony continues on without a second thought, eyes bright and hands moving restlessly. “I’m gonna move my clubhouse there, and park it right next to the falls!”

 

He points to where a scrappy drawing of a rainbow house has been stuck onto the picture. “Who knows what lives up there? SO many new things for me to learn. And once I get there? Well-“

 

The pages flip over to show more messy handwriting which Steve reads as ‘STUFF IM GOING TO DO’

 

“I’m saving these pages for all the adventures I’m gonna have!” Tony rests his hands on his elbows, voice suddenly dismayed “Only… I don’t know how I’m gonna get to paradise falls.”

 

Steve stands slowly. He feels stupid in his blue cloud pajamas when Tony is still in his overalls. He glances at the blimp toy he hangs from the ceiling and Tony’s eyes light up in joy.

 

“THAT’S IT!” He sits up and puts his hands firmly on Steve’s shoulders, “YOU CAN TAKE US THERE IN A BLIMP! SWEAR YOU’LL TAKE US? CROSS YOUR HEART! Cross it! Cross your heart!”

 

Steve blinks rapidly at the boy in front of him, eyes wide. Wordlessly, he quickly crosses his finger over his heart and holds up his hand. Tony smiles even wider, all teeth. He has a few gaps, just like Steve. 

 

“Good. You promised. No backing out” He frowns at Steve who shakes his head viciously. Tony stands and picks up his book. “Well, see you tomorrow, kid. Bye.” 

 

He runs over to the window at jumps out, leaving Steve speechless as ever. He pauses, briefly, and holds up a fist in the air as he looks at Steve with a spark in his eyes. “ADVENTURE IS OUT THERE!” 

 

He disappears for only a second before his curly head pops back up again.

 

“You know, you don’t talk very much. I like you!” He really goes this time, rustling the trees behind him. 

 

Steve pads over the window and leans out. He’s gone.

 

“Wow” he whispers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve remembers their wedding day. 

Small, quaint.

 

Perfect.

 

Steve had his bottle cap pin on his lapel.

 

A few cameras had flashed and they held hands at the altar, waiting for the vicar to tell them to kiss. Tony was buzzing. Literally buzzing. He was bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet with impatience and his hand was practically vibrating. 

 

He practically flew into Steve’s arms when the command fell, which instinctively curled around his waist and they had laughed into the kiss because of Tony’s uncontrollable energy and excitement. He laughed into the kiss because he had still managed to be taken by surprise. 

 

 

 

After the wedding, Tony had led him by the hand to the old, broken down house that they had first met in. It was in even worse condition, all those years later. It took them days to fix it up. Even more to paint into the rainbow colors that Tony had drawn all those years ago into the book. 

 

Steve painted their names onto the letterbox, laughing when Tony accidentally left a clumsy handprint on the white of it. He had looked guilty and amused and Steve only responded by leaving his own handprint on it, too. Larger and blue, next to Tony’s smaller red one.

 

 

 

It was perfect. Their home was perfect. 

 

 

That week, Steve remembered, Tony had dragged him to the spot they’d always gone to as kids. He had run up the hill like he always did, waiting impatiently at the top while Steve made his way. Often, he would trot back down to grab Steve’s large arm and pull him up. They would lie at the top, looking at the clouds and drinking lemonade and laughing and enjoying things.

 

Tony would wildly gesticulate his hands and try and find shapes in the sky and Steve would always tease him because his imagination could stretch for miles.

 

 

 

They found temporary at the zoo, near to each other. Steve ran a balloon stand outside the South America building that Tony was in. Occasionally, he would bring him out a parrot or something else that was definitely against the rules but Tony didn’t care.

 

 

 

In their home, Steve moved his art supplies into Tony’s workroom. Days were spent with the two of them working on their own things, together. Tony would sing or talk to himself and Steve would hum or smile to himself. 

 

 

 

They would go to the top of their hill often, just to get a break. It never got old.

 

 Tony would pretend that the clouds held their future.

 

 

 

 

Once, he decided that the clouds held a baby. Steve had opened his mouth in shock, then smiled. Tony looked at the sky, long and hard. 

 

The idea never left his head. 

 

 

 

 

 

The adoption companies never said yes. Not once. Tony would get to the letters before they even hit the ground, read them, then let them fall. He couldn’t understand. He couldn’t understand why. Why why why couldn’t they have this? What was wrong with them?

 

 

 

 

Steve remembers standing in the doorway, looking at his husband in the garden. He was sat on the ground. Cross legged, eyes closed.

 

The wind blew through his hair, ruffling the dark curls. His hands lay dead still in his lap.

 

 

In an attempt to help, Steve shoved the old adventure book into his hands. He had barely remembered it the past few years, suddenly remembering it now as the sight of Tony Stark sitting on the ground outside filled him with a strange nostalgia.

 

Tony had smiled, a little. 

 

 

 

 

 

From there, they changed their goal. They (Steve) painted a mural on the wall, above the fireplace. It was of Paradise Falls, with their own little house next to the waterfall. Tony pretended to help, but really just buzzed around, checking every nook and cranny of the house for spare change. 

 

The jar filled, slowly. Tony’s scratchy, messy handwriting on the side read ‘Paradise Falls’

 

 

 

 

Tony made him swear to remember Paradise falls. He crossed his finger quickly over his heart, raising his hand to show him. 

 

 

 

 

 

Once the car tire burst, the jar emptied.

 

 

 

 

A broken leg later and the jar was empty again. They did laugh, though. Only the second time Tony had ever gotten Steve in a cast.

 

 

 

 

They had gotten so close, the third time. The storm that forced a tree into their roof interrupted, though. 

 

 

After that, Steve supposed they kind of forgot.

 

 

 

 

 

Steve used to make Tony brush his hair. Usually, he had to do it himself. He’d grab Tony by the collar before he left the house, pulling him back in and raking a comb through his thick, tangled hair before he could react. He would grumble, but smile and kiss Steve on the nose before ducking out of reach again.

 

They did this most days. Every day, really.

 

Everyday he would drag a comb through the curls. Sometimes he had to buy a new comb, because the plastic would snap in the sheer volume and mess of Tony’s hair.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve ran the balloon stand for several years. Tony dodged between jobs, unhappy sticking at anything besides Steve for too long. In the end, they were mostly raking in money by trying to sell his strange inventions.

 

 

 

 

They never lost their spark. Not once. Tony never lost that electricity running through him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was a Thursday. Steve was cleaning and Tony was sitting cross legged on the floor, inventing something weird and useless. As he dusted the shelves, Steve glanced briefly at the mural. He gave it a long, hard look. Then he looked at Tony.

 

After that, he made up his mind and left to go and buy two tickets. To Paradise Falls. 

 

It was time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He tucked the tickets into the picnic basket. They were going to go to their spot on the hill.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tony never made it up the hill. He hadn’t run up for a long time, but this time he barely made it half way. Steve had been waiting at the top, teasing him for being an old man when he collapsed. 

 

 

 

 

Steve, vaguely, remembers screaming. Because cancer? Really? 

 

 

This wasn’t fair. 

 

Wasn’t even close to fair.

 

 

 

Tony Stark. Beautiful, buzzing, bright and sparkling Tony Stark was never going to see 30. 

 

Was probably not going to see next week. 

 

 

Steve remembers thinking that everything sucked. That nothing was ever going to be good again.

 

 

 

He had stood in the doorway of the hospital room. He had sent over a balloon with a stick on the end, flying over to Tony, who had the adventure book in his hands.

 

When he neared, the book was shoved into his arms. Steve had shut his eyes. Couldn’t / wouldn’t look at Tony like this. Tony Stark with no glint his eyes.

 

He’s certain, now, that if he had opened his eyes, then that glint would’ve been there. Certain that the mischievousness never left Tony. 

 

Instead, blindly, he had run a hand through thick hair, clasped a smaller hand in his own. Kissed a forehead. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve hadn’t gone home that night. He had gone to the church, where they’d gotten married. He had sat on the steps, where they had stood. He went home in the early ours of the morning. The whole house had smelled of Tony, screamed Tony, exploded Tony from every corner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, Steve sat in his chair. The chair that was in Tony’s inventing room, destroyed now as it was. The adventure book was in his lap. 

 

It had been years.

 

So many years.

 

 

Each one, Steve missed Tony like he would miss his own soul. Felt the loss of his presence at his side like he would feel the loss of his own body. Each year, each month, each day, Steve missed Tony Stark with everything he had.

 

 

 

He looked at the book. It had been unopened since his death. Left to gather dust and sleep on a shelf.

 

Now, he opened it. He opened it and tried not to tear up as he looked at the first few pages. The Captain America comic, the map of South America, the picture of Paradise Falls that he had torn right of a library book. Steve still disaproved.

 

Over and over he turned the pages. Leaves were stuck in and pictures of things that young Tony had found amazing! There was science and strange objects and shitty drawings of ducks. Newspaper clippings and stickers and stamps and quotes.

 

One page held a picture of him and Steve. Tony, hair in all directions, was grinning a toothy grin. He had an arm around Steve, who was much smaller and skinnier then, nervous looking but happy and excited. Tony was wearing his aeroplane goggles and those old overalls that were too big for him.

 

When he turned the page again, big letters read ‘STUFF IM GOING TO DO’ in big, scratchy, messy black letters.

 

That was where Steve lost it, really. His vision clouded because this was not fair. Tony Stark had never gotten to fill those pages. Never went on that adventure.

 

 

He went to close the book. 

 

 

 

Till he saw black tape. Stuck jauntily onto a picture. The pages had pictures on?

 

 

Shock over came sadness. Curiosity filled him as he turned the page over, finding a picture of himself, staring right back at him. Steve and Tony. It was their wedding day.

 

 

Tony’s grin was a mile wide, hair sticking out randomly as he grinned into the camera. Steve clearly only had eyes for his new husband, a small smile on his own face. He sighs slightly, turns the page again. More pictures. More pictures of them. He turns the page quicker and quicker.

 

Them in their garden in their new home, covered head to toe in paint from a fight Tony had started.

 

 

Steve carrying Tony bridle style, laughing his head off.

 

 

Tony’s birthday. Steve’s birthday. Each photo holding a grinning Steve as his husband pressed a kiss to his cheek.

 

 

The two of them on Steve’s new motorbike that Tony had built from scratch.

 

 

Feeding the birds, drinking coffee, Tony covered in motor oil and Steve covered in baking flour. The pair sat on top of their hill. Tony in the garden, lying flat on his back. Steve in the kitchen, pouring orange juice.

 

Finally, the two of them sitting in a pool of water from when Tony had flooded the house. Steve wondered if it was possible to look so damn happy in that kind of situation but they did.

 

 

 

In the bottom corner, messy writing tells him ‘thank you for the adventure. now go and have a new one! - tony’

**Author's Note:**

> WHO WANTS A SEQUEL OF THE FULL FILM W GRUMPY STEVE AND BOY SCOUT PETER AND DOG BUCKY LET ME KNOW


End file.
